Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson isn’t stupid. He is a student of the game of football. Few have studied the intricacies of this sport and its history quite like he has. That is why he had plenty of criticisms about how the Bears performed last season despite going 11-6 and winning the division. Their defense was among the worst in the league in most categories. Quarterback Caleb Williams had the lowest completion percentage of any starting quarterback. The wide receivers were haunted by drop issues. It is a pretty extensive list.
They can’t expect to beat great teams in the playoffs with so many flaws. It falls on him and the coaching staff to clean it all up. However, there is another issue he has been reluctant to address publicly. Henry McKenna of Fox Sports touched on it in a recent interview with the Bears head coach. Amidst that magical run last season, one thing became apparent. The team always seemed to be trailing in the 4th quarter, and required a wild comeback. It happened seven times.
Is Ben Johnson concerned that it is unsustainable?
That includes making sense of all the Bears’ narrow victories and come-from-behind games. As impressive as that quality was for Chicago, it can also lead to regression. Look at the Kansas City Chiefs as a cautionary tale. They made the Super Bowl in 2024 with a run of 17 consecutive wins in one-possession games (a streak that started in 2023). But the Chiefs lost nine one-possession games in 2025 and finished 6-11.
As I tried to spit out a question about whether the Bears were worried about that same fate, Johnson, smiling wide, interrupted me.
“You think it was fluky? Is that what you’re getting at?” he asked me…
…But history has a way of repeating itself, and dramatic wins are often not sustainable. Johnson admitted he’s thought about that.
“It goes back to a term that I learned early as a coordinator called ‘unstable success,’” he told me.
This is a very real issue.
Usually, a reliance on late-game heroics means a team tends to get off to poor starts. They can’t lock in and focus for a full four quarters. Never a good sign. Below is a list of the ten teams that had the most 4th quarter comebacks in a single season. Of the nine who aren’t the Bears, only two improved their records the following season. Two others matched it. The rest regressed. Only one managed to win a Super Bowl.
| Team & Season | 4QC Wins | Primary QB | Season Record | Following Year Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 Detroit Lions | 8 | Matthew Stafford | 9–7 | 9–7 |
| 2022 Minnesota Vikings | 8 | Kirk Cousins | 13–4 | 7–10 |
| 2016 Oakland Raiders | 7 | Derek Carr | 12–4 | 6–10 |
| 2009 Indianapolis Colts | 7 | Peyton Manning | 14–2 | 10–6 |
| 2021 Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | Ben Roethlisberger | 9–7–1 | 9–8 |
| 2025 Chicago Bears | 6 | Caleb Williams | 11–6 | TBD |
| 1979 Atlanta Falcons | 5 | Steve Bartkowski | 6–10 | 12–4 |
| 2013 New England Patriots | 5 | Tom Brady | 12–4 | 12–4 |
| 2020 Tennessee Titans | 5 | Ryan Tannehill | 11–5 | 12–5 |
| 1999 Indianapolis Colts | 5 | Peyton Manning | 13–3 | 10–6 |
This gives you an idea of what Ben Johnson and the Bears are up against. This problem hampered guys like Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger. In those cases that teams overcame it, you’ll often find a good head coach was involved. Bill Belichick and Mike Vrabel certainly know what they’re doing. Johnson will face that same challenge.
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Johnson knows what must be done.
Efficiency is the name of the game. If the Bears want to become a more normal winning team, they must learn how to take control of games early. That comes from scoring points on opening drives and getting stops early on defense. Such things require stacking first down, which in turn requires more completions and consistent block execution. It’s all part of the same machine. Ben Johnson knows there are still kinks to work out. Certain gears must be replaced. Oil is needed in a few spots.
The good news is the Bears were significantly better towards the end of last season than they were at the start. Johnson has seen this blueprint before. In 2023, the Detroit Lions were second in the NFL in 1st quarter points per game. That carried them all the way to the NFC championship game. The good news? Chicago was 6th last season. The bad news? They were 26th in 2nd quarter points. That means they scored early but couldn’t sustain it. This is what allowed opponents to jump ahead of them so often.
Fixing that will be the first order of business.
